Mumbai: A 31-year-old garment businessman has been allegedly extorted of Rs 10.30 lakh at the Bandra Terminus, making it the third such incident taking place at railway stations. The complainant, Vikas Gupta, claimed that on Monday, two men in civvies introduced themselves as cops and forcibly took his money meant for purchasing clothes, while he was on his way to Gujarat. A hunt is on for the fake cops.
RPF Criticised For CCTV Failure
Notably, in the previous cases, real railway police personnel were accused of extorting passengers. Referring to the Gupta's episode, social activist Samir Zaveri said, “It is shocking and unacceptable that the Railway Protection Force (RPF) failed to detect the crime in real-time despite the Bandra Terminus being under CCTV surveillance. If the extortion spot was covered by CCTVs, the RPF owes an explanation to the public – why did their live monitoring system completely fail?”
According to Gupta, he had planned to travel to Gujarat on September 1 to purchase clothes. Around 7pm, he arrived at the Bandra Terminus and went near a canteen in the main hall. There, the duo approached him and asked what he was carrying in his bag, while claiming to be cops. Upon finding several lakhs in the bag, they sought proof of ownership, said Gupta, adding that he was unable to provide any evidence.
The duo took the money and told him to return with evidence of how he had obtained it, after which they left the spot, said the businessman. He described the accused as around 40 years old, of medium build and brown-skinned.
FIR Registered, Hunt For Accused On
The Bandra railway police have registered a case against the two unidentified individuals under sections 204 (personating a public servant) and 3(5) (common intention) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
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Activist Demands Release Of Photos
“I demand that the railways and the Government Railway Police (GRP) must immediately release the photographs of the duo, who brazenly impersonated police officers and extorted money,” Zaveri said. Only by making their faces public, the citizens can help identify and report these extortionists, he added. “The railways must also appeal to the public to report any similar past incidents,” the activist said.
Meanwhile, passengers sought urgent verification of the CCTV footage and the call records of on-duty personnel, who were present at the Bandra Terminus.
